GARY, W.Va. — Flood damage in McDowell County is widespread.
It’s not just Welch but it’s most every other community that saw damage from last weekend’s flood including the town of Gary.
(Photo by Jeff Jenkins/MetroNews)
Situated along state Route 103 the former U.S. Steel mining town took on water from a swollen Tug Fork River.
The National Weather Service said communities near the headwaters of the river picked up five inches of rain last Saturday.
Gary City Recorder Larry Barber said by personal observation it was a record flood.
“I’ve never seen this much water. I was born in 1963 and I think this was just as bad as the 1977 flood,” Barber told MetroNews inside a flood damaged city hall building.
The Tug Fork exceeded its banks and crossed the highway and approached the Bantam Market.
“We had cars floating down the river and we found a truck behind a resident’s house down in Wilcoe, They were at Wall Street and got out of the truck at Wall Street and the truck just took off,” Barber said.
The high water also knocked out two bridges in the town including the one at Wall Street.
Gary Mayor Robert Little said the top priority was restoring water service.
“We got the water plant running,” he said when speaking to MetroNews earlier this week.
Both Little and Barber predict the area will bounce back.
“It’s going to take time to get every straightened and cleaned out and get back to normal I hope,” Little said.
Barber was a little more optimistic.
“We’ll make it. We made it before and we’ll make again,” Barber said.